Grant to assist Duluth flood victims

A new $500,000 grant is coming to the Duluth area to help residents still struggling to recover from damage from the June flood. The Duluth News Tribune reports the money comes from the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation of Eden Prairie, Minn

A new $500,000 grant is coming to the Duluth area to help residents still struggling to recover from damage from the June flood.

The Duluth News Tribune reports the money comes from the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation of Eden Prairie, Minn. Much of the money will be distributed through local non profits.

Almost everyone with homes and property damaged in the flood has a secure place to spend the winter, but there’s still work to be done to return property to pre-flood conditions. Not all of the work is covered by state and federal programs.

Only about 100 more applications are needed to get $3 million in federal loans for residents suffering from flood damage in the Duluth area. For every 100 homeowners that apply for assistance, $1.4 million is awarded from the U.S. Small Business Administration. The deadline for low-interest recovery loans is October 15th.

It's been four months since flooding devastated the streets of Duluth, and now winter is closing in fast. Street crews are racing to get as much work done as they can before snow and ice burrow into holes and makes them even bigger, forcing repair costs higher, WDIO reports.

Hundreds of residents in the low-lying Fond du Lac area of Duluth still cannot return after massive flooding in northeastern Minnesota this week. Damage estimates are climbing and more rain is expected. Meanwhile, congressional lawmakers pledge federal support. And kids in Duluth opened a lemonade stand to raise money for the Lake Superior Zoo, which was hit hard by the floodwaters.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar toured flood-damaged areas of Duluth and other parts of northeastern Minnesota Friday, and after declaring the damage massive assured federal aid would be coming to the area. The federal government contributes more than 75 percent to uninsured public infrastructure when natural disasters cause more than $8 million damage.

After the floods in Duluth, an army of volunteers has stepped in to fill a gap between when emergency workers leave and more long-term help arrives. Race routes have been altered, but the events will go on. Biking and hiking trails are open. And the zoo plans to reopen on Friday with most of the park's 483 animals on display.

Now that the waters have abated in northeastern Minnesota following last week's storms, area residents are dealing with a flood of trash. The Western Lake Superior Sanitary District's Materials Recovery Center in Duluth is one of the destinations for the trash, which is coming in from a 530 square mile area covering St. Louis and Carlton counties.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency denied an appeal Friday from Gov. Mark Dayton for aid for individuals and businesses affected by floods in northeastern Minnesota in June. Dayton said he was "disappointed" by FEMA's ruling and that he'll ask the state legislature for an estimated $7.4 million in assistance in an upcoming special session.